Ethics, professionalism and CPD courses for regulated health professionals

We write short, practical courses on the parts of professional practice that regulators care about most and that clinical training often covers only briefly. The New Zealand and United States editions each hold 49 courses, sorted into six areas: conduct and ethics, the standards of individual professions, consent and privacy, patient safety and medicines, record keeping and competence, and the steps that follow a complaint, from insight to remediation. The Canada edition holds 39 courses in five groups: responding to a concern and remediation, profession-specific ethics and standards, ethics and conduct for every profession, professionalism and safe practice, and communication, consent, privacy and records. The Singapore edition holds 53 courses in six groups: conduct and ethics, professional practice and standards, patient safety and medicines, communication, consent and privacy, records and CME/CPE portfolios, and responding to a concern and remediation.

Every course is built from official sources: legislation, regulator standards and guidance, codes of conduct and ethics, and the published work of bodies such as the Health and Disability Commissioner in New Zealand, the state boards and national federations in the United States, the provincial and territorial colleges and ordres in Canada, or the national professional boards and the Ministry of Health in Singapore. We do not copy other course providers, and we tell you where the rules come from so you can check them yourself.

Professional regulation is national, in the United States it is state by state, and in Canada it is province by province. A course that tries to cover every country at once ends up vague about the rules that actually apply to you.

• New Zealand: one Act, the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, sets up responsible authorities for each profession. Complaints that affect a health consumer generally go to the Health and Disability Commissioner first, and serious matters can reach a professional conduct committee and the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
• United States: each state has its own practice acts and licensing boards, with its own renewal rules, complaint procedures and disciplinary orders. Federal rules such as HIPAA sit alongside them.
• Canada: there is no national health regulator. Each province and territory licenses its own professions, usually through a college or, in Quebec, an ordre, under statutes such as Ontario's Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, Alberta's Health Professions Act and Quebec's Professional Code. Complaints are screened by college committees, such as Ontario's Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee.
• Singapore: health professionals are registered by national professional boards under the Ministry of Health, each set up by its own Act, such as the Medical Registration Act 1997 for the Singapore Medical Council and the Nurses and Midwives Act 1999 for the Singapore Nursing Board. Complaints are considered by board committees, and for doctors serious matters can go to a Disciplinary Tribunal appointed by the Disciplinary Commission. Each board also sets its own CME or CPE requirements for practising certificate renewal.

So our New Zealand courses talk about practising certificates, recertification and the Code of Rights, our United States courses talk about license renewal, board orders and state law, our Canada courses talk about college quality assurance programs, complaints committees, undertakings and provincial law, and our Singapore courses talk about practising certificates, board CME and CPE requirements, complaints committees and Singapore law. Same topics, different content.

Most learners come to us for one of two reasons.

• Routine professional development. You want focused, well-sourced learning on ethics and professionalism to support recertification, continuing competence, license renewal, your college's quality assurance program or your practising certificate renewal, and a record you can add to your portfolio.
• Learning after a complaint or concern. You have received a complaint, are the subject of an investigation, or have been advised to reflect and remediate. You want to understand the standards involved and show genuine learning.

If you are in the second group, please get advice first from your indemnity insurer, union, professional association or lawyer. If a regulator, tribunal, board or college committee has ordered or directed specific education, check that our course meets the terms of that order before you enrol. Many orders require a named or approved provider.

• 2–3 hours (estimated) (2 hours in the Canada edition) of reading, case scenarios and reflection prompts, studied at your own pace on any device
• Knowledge checks along the way, so you can test your understanding as you go
• A final assessment with a pass mark of 80%: 20 scenario-based questions in the New Zealand, United States and Singapore editions (16 out of 20 to pass) and 10 questions in the Canada edition (8 out of 10 to pass)
• A Fitness To Practice certificate of completion showing the course title, estimated learning time and completion date
• A structured reflective account to complete and keep for your portfolio or professional development records
• Instant access in "My Courses" after secure card checkout, with one account that works across countries

See how it works for the full step-by-step process.